Lansford Church Hosts Welsh Choir In Christmas Gala

December 01, 1985|The Morning Call

More than 50 voices of the Welsh Songfest Choir will present familiar Christmas carols and anthems that are part of Christmas in Wales at a program today in the English Congregational United Church of Christ, Lansford.

The choir, under the direction of Laverne Evans Miller, will lead the congregation in singing the carols at the church at 47 W. Ridge St. The program begins at 2:30 p.m.

Proceeds from the "Plygain Carolau Nadolis" (Christmas service) will be given to the Welsh Congregational Preservation Society's fund to aid in the restoration of the Welsh Congregational Church at Center and Abbott streets. Restoration work began this year on the church, which was dedicated Christmas Day in 1850 and was the only church in the community until 1872.

The church was incorporated Oct. 3, 1865. The Rev. William Thomas, a Welshman, was the first pastor. In 1869, the younger generation of the church asked that a service be conducted in English. They were refused and the younger group broke away from the mother church, with the blessing of the mother church. The breakaway group called the new church the English Congregational Church of Lansford.

The Welsh people held services in the old church every Sunday until 1955, and from then on, services were held only on special occasions. The Welsh language prevailed until the end.

Historians in the Panther Valley claim the church building is the oldest in the area.

Familiar carols include "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," "While Shepherds Watched Their Flock" and "The First Noel."

A special part of the program will be the appearance of the "Welsh Cookies," a group of area youngsters portraying the Nativity scene. Thechildren, dressed in Welsh costumes, also will provide a peek at a Welsh Christmas custom, the "Mari Lwyd." The "Mari Lwyd," or Gray Mare, is a Welsh custom in which carolers would take a horse with them on their rounds of the community. A horsehead on a broomstick was sometimes a substitute.

A multi-denominational choir of Tamaqua and Panther Valley churches will also sing.

Other carols will include "O Come All Ye Faithful," "Angels We Have Heard On High," "Deck the Halls," "God Rest You Merry Gentlemen," and the anthem, "This Christmas Tide." The program will conclude with "Joy to the World."

Regina DePuy will be the organist and John Sharpe, pianist. The two Lansford residents have been the accompanists at the annual songfest held in March.